And the Rain Will Fall
by Pineapple Bacardi
Summary: Slash. Companion piece to 'Achilles Heel'. After their lives and future are threatened, Arthur and Merlin struggle with destiny and the feelings they have for each other. Merlin/Arthur.


This is a companion piece to "Achilles Heel" which in turn is a companion piece to my earlier fic "Ignorant". I am planning a few more after this and I am so glad you like them!

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Prince Arthur was known for his temperament. I find him beautiful in his anger, like a summer storm, hot and heavy, thick with want and need and lust. Most people don't see the softer side of his temperament. He barely shows it to me, but when he does, it's like a soft, cloudy, spring morning where the rain has just started falling. When he found out about my magic he was that summer storm. He yelled, he scolded for my idiocy, he held me, he kissed me, and that night when he was inside of me I truly realized how much he cared about me.

My mother used to tell me stories of storms and raining and how the weather could predict our future. Sunshine meant a bright future, full of possibilities and love and friendship. Cloudy mornings meant that trouble laid a head, but you just had to find the strength to push through. Heavy rainfall meant darkness, pain and heartbreak.

I usually took my mother's predications with a grain of salt. It tended to rain a lot around here. But today, today was a beautiful day.

I had just finished changing the sheets of Arthur's bed when the young Prince stormed into the room, looking angry and fiery. I backed up against the wall, slightly, folding my arms across my chest, watching as Arthur sat down in the chair and kicked off his boots, waiting for the expected outburst. Arthur shrugged off his coat, throwing it on the bed, and I was surprised that he didn't even ask me to help him undress. I frowned, something was definitely not right here.

"Well, how was your day?" Arthur asked, his voice laced with bitterness.

"Well, I-" I mumbled slightly, a little taken back.

"Mine too, it was great," he said, his voice dripped with heavy sarcasm. He walked over to the window and put his hands on the sill. The sun was slowly setting; it was a beautiful evening, not a cloud in sight. A night where anything could happen.

"Killed some rabbits, took down Tristan in hand-to-hand combat, oh, and my father knows about us and he will have you executed if we keep shagging." I felt my jaw drop and Arthur just nodded, turning to me. "He also threatened to execute me."

I was outraged. "He can't do that!" Fear suddenly made me feel nauseous, just the thought of Arthur getting hurt made me weak.

Arthur sighed and just shook his head. "He's the King, Merlin; of course he can do that. He can do anything."

"Oh." I felt numb. I knew I was stupid; of course he could do anything to us.

He could break us.

"My sentiments exactly, Merlin, you're so good at describing how I feel with a single word," his voice was still sarcastic. Arthur walked across the room in a frantic pace, like a caged animal and placed his hands against the wall, leaning. He exhaled slowly and punched the wall once, twice, his whole body shaking with anger, his breathing ragged.

"Dammit," he whispered and leaned his forehead against the wall.

"Arthur," I said softly, walking over to stand behind him, putting my hand on his back.

"Don't, just don't," he said back, his voice broken.

"We'll fix this," I said, desperately, my fingers digging into Arthur's shoulder-blade.

"We can't fix it. Not this. He's the King, what he says goes." Arthur whispered, sounding so lost it made me ache. It made me want to pull him into my arms and just take care of anything.

I knew I had the power to take care of it, but the situation was too complicated. I hated complications when it came to magic. It should really just be simple. Of course it was never that simple and it was never going to be that simple.

I swallowed, the awful truth settling, and I realized that perhaps Arthur was right. Perhaps we couldn't fix this. Uther wasn't bluffing this time. I didn't want to die, but if Arthur died it would destroy me. If me staying with Arthur would get him killed then I had to leave, of course it wasn't as simple as that. After all, no one said destiny was supposed to be easy.

"I could leave," I whispered, hating the words as I said them and for a moment I couldn't believe I had spoken them out loud, as if they were horrible, disgusting curse words we never wanted to say in each other's company.

"What?" Arthur finally turned around and faced me and the vulnerability in his eyes almost made me stagger. He shook his head, not believing what I was saying. He grabbed my arms, pulling me closer to him, still shaking his head.

"Arthur, I can't let him kill you," I said fiercely and Arthur made a sound that sounded suspiciously a lot like a growl.

"And you think for a minute that I could bear watching you die?" he sounded angry and I sighed, closing my eyes. He groaned. "God, this is messed-up."

"I don't want to leave," I said quietly, my eyes meeting his and the fear I saw in his eyes mirrored my own. "In fact, the mere thought of leaving is tearing me apart but maybe this is the way it's supposed to be."

"It's not," Arthur said forcefully.

"Arthur, for so long I've hold onto that it's my destiny to be by your side," I said and took a few steps back, running my hands through my hair. Arthur just watched me. "And maybe it was, at first, but look at what's happening around us. Everything around is screaming at us not to be together. I can't use my magic to protect you here. But maybe…" I took a deep breath. "Maybe I'm supposed to use my magic to protect you from a distance."

Arthur looked like I just ripped his heart out, maybe I had, but in the process I had ripped my own heart out as well.

"You can't leave," he hissed, grabbing my neck-scarf and pulling me to him. "I can't believe you're even contemplating it."

"Arthur, we're talking about your life," I said.

"And I am talking about _yours_," he replied, sounding angry.

"You're going to be king someday," I whispered back, my voice failing.

Arthur let out a dark chuckle, shaking his head, pulling me even closer. "Don't even pretend for a second that my life is worth more than yours."

I let out a heavy breath, finally cracking, leaning my forehead against his. His lips ghosted over mine. "I just… I just need a sign that we're doing this right way," I whispered desperately. Arthur's hand snaked around my neck and tugged me forward, pressing our lips together. He kissed me as if he was drowning and I was his only source of air. I opened my mouth and he took full advantage of that, his tongue slipping into my mouth and I moaned loudly. He tugged at my hair and pulled back.

"There's your sign," he said huskily, his chest heaving.

"Arthur," I whispered, my eyes closed, my hands holding onto his shoulders.

"You can't leave, Merlin," Arthur said, a small smirk forming on his lips. "I'd go after you and bring you right back." He kissed the corner of my mouth.

"See, that's why I have magic," I replied back cheekily, nuzzling my nose against his. He growled, grabbed me around my waist, spun me around, and pushed him up against the wall, his lips coming down on mine frantically. I arched into him, holding onto for dear life. He bit down on my lower lip, tugging at it and I moaned in pain and pleasure. He pulled back, his lips swollen and his eyes liquid, his face filled with need and want and love.

I stroked his cheek. "Arthur, why do we keep doing this to each other?"

"I love you, you insolent idiot," he shook his head, pulling at my neck-scarf and my breathing hitched as I looked into his eyes and saw the raw emotion there.

"Don't," I whispered, suddenly feeling very little.

Arthur cupped my face, smiling gently and kissed me with such tenderness that it made me ache for him. "I think this might break us," I told him.

He smirked. "We'll fix it." And for a moment I almost believed him.

I nodded. "I know. I guess we'll just have to… stay away from each other for a while." We looked at each, suddenly awkward. Yes, that would take some restraint. "You know, and not look at each other so much during the feasts and banquets."

Arthur nodded as he took off my neck-scarf. "And not kiss each other in the corridors where we can be exposed at any minute." I grabbed the edge of his tunic and pulled it over his head, running my hands across his naked chest.

"And just avoid each other…" I whispered against his lips as he pulled my shirt off.

"Until it drives us downright insane," he finished.

"Right," I replied.

He captured my lips in a soul-searing kiss as we made our way over to the bed, shedding as much clothing as we possibly could along the way. Arthur pushed me against the bed-post, strong thigh spreading my legs wide, pushing up. I moaned loudly, throwing my head back in ecstasy as Arthur left trails of bite-marks across my throat and collar-bone, marking me. His hands moved up my back and shoulders, pushing me down hard on his thigh and I was near choking with need. We fell down on the bed and kissed me hungrily and I shuddered.

He pulled back, his hand running up and down my abdomen and chest. "I'm serious though, Merlin," he said quietly. "Don't try to run away. Don't even _think _about it."

I grinded against him, running my hands across his back, and he groaned. "I know, you'd come after me."

He pressed down hard against me, looking into my eyes, our noses touching. "And I would find you."

We gave each other everything that evening. I gave him my promise, my magic, my body, heart, mind and soul and I feel sleep with him still inside of me. I woke up hours later to the sound of heavy rainfall hitting the castle roof. I shivered and burrowed closer to Arthur, closing my eyes and burying my in his chest, desperately trying to ignore the rain striking treacherously against the windows as loud thunder rumbled in the distance.


End file.
